Shuttle-guides for change-box looms



June 17, 1958 s. o. DODGE SHUTTLE-GUIDES FOR CHANGE-BOX LOOMS Filed Jan. 14, 1955 Fig. 3

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'l 2,839,091 Patented June 17, 1958 2,839,091 A SHUTTLE-Grimes non CHANGE-nox Looms Sherwood 0. Dodge, Medford, Mass., assigner to H. F. Livermore Corporation, Allston, Mass., a corporation j of Delaware Application January 14, 195s,seria1Na. 481,77@

1 Claim. (ci. 139-155) This invention relates to shuttle-guides for the movable shuttle boxes employed at one or both ends of the lay of a change-box loom.

The vertically shifting shuttle boxes of change-box looms provide no definite stop for the working shuttle when it enters the box at the end of its iiight, since the shuttle although retarded bythe binder is brought to rest by the picker, which in turn is backed up by the picker-check mechanism or buler against which the picker is driven by the impact of the shuttle. The picker and its checking means are formed of yielding material, such as leather, rubber, fabric, and the like, and they are subjected to heavy wear in the picking and checking. The stopping point of the shuttle thus varies with the Wear and resulting necessary readjustment or replacement of these parts, moving outward with the everincreasing depth of the hole worn in the picker by the sharp shuttle point, and inward upon replacement or resetting. Since it periodically becomes necessary to replace the worn picker with a new one, or to readjust the picker-check or replace the buffer after wear, all the shuttles in the various cells of the change-box must be so positioned that their outward points lie inwardly of the vertical plane of the face of the new or newly positioned picker, so that their points will clear the picker on the way up or down. Otherwise the box cannot complete its intended movement, the picker misses its slot in the intended cell of the shuttle box when the pick is attempted, and a smash occurs, usually breaking the pickel-stick, with resultant loss of working time of the loom and expense of replacement.

Hence, each time the box shifts, the working shuttle should be moved inward from its varying stopping position; It has been the practice to form the outer box guide, mounted on the lay end, with vertical fins extendingl parallel to the guide slot in the inner edge of the box guide and rearwardly from the guide, to overlap and engage the outward shuttle points of the shuttles occupying the cells of the box and maintain them in a vertical line lying inward of the face of a new or newly positioned picker when in its outermost position. These ns thus forming shuttleguides are spaced apart to permit the picker to travel back and forth between their opposing ends. To effect the required inward movement and positioning of the shuttles in the change-box, these ends are formed as cam wings slanting outward in mutually converging relation, so that their inward faces serve as cam surfaces to engage the point of the working shuttle and force it inward to the plane of the vertical guiding surfaces of the fins as the box moves up or down to carry the old or working shuttle into idle position and thereby bring a new shuttle into working position in line with the picker, which travels between the ends of the cam Wings. f

The drag of lthe shuttle points against these cam wings creates friction which comprises a substantial part of the burden of moving the change-box, since it requires a material eifort to move the shuttle inward against the resistance of the binder in the shuttles cell, and this drag also tends to tilt the box and its. cells out of alignment` with the'shuttle race. Further, because of this heavy pressure, the shuttle-guides quickly become deeply scored and gouged by the sharp points of the shuttle tips in the act of shifting the old shuttle at each box change. The hardened steel tip cuts into the softer cast iron of the shuttle-guide so rapidly, especially at the cam wings which must move the shuttle an inch or more as the picker approaches the end of its useful life, that the box guide must be removed and either repaired or replaced, commonly after about two Weeks of steady use, especially in looms employed in mixing filling. The scoring also extends up and down the vertical faces of the shuttleguide. lf worn beyond repair, Which is commonly effected by welding and grinding smooth, the whole relatively expensive box guide must be scrapped although only worn at these two localized points, the shuttleguiding surfaces, while all the rest of it remains in good shape.

- There is of course a corresponding wearing and dulling of the shuttle tips, which must be kept sharp for proper picking and flight through the shed.

if wear of the picker and its check goes so far as to let the working shuttle move outward so that the steel shuttle tip passes the horizontal ends of the cam wings, the latter engage with the wood of the shuttle at its shoulders and inwardly of the tip, cutting into the wood and causing the shuttle to hang on the cam end with jamming of the boxes anda resultant smash when box shift is attempted. This cannot easily be avoided by extending the cam wings, since the scope of action of these cam wings is limited by the necessary spacing of the wings'apart to allow the Dicker to pass between them, and by the slope needed to cam the shuttle inward without intolerable pressure and wear and to complete their movement of the shuttle before the shuttle has risen or dropped to the level of the adjacent cell, otherwise this shuttle cannot pass the face of a new or newly positioned picker. Hence the wings cannot be extended outward to keep clear of the wood.

lt is the object of the present invention to obviate these drawbacks and effect economy through avoidance of the trouble, expense, and loss of machine time resulting therefrom.

To these ends, I have devised a novel and improved box guide characterized by shuttle-guides having shuttleengaging surfaces which travel with the opposing surfaces on the shuttle in the act of forcing the old shuttle inward to a free box-shifting position, and thus eliminate the aforesaid drag. The shuttle is moved more easily into proper position in its celi, and hence the whole box moves up or down with greater ease and accuracy into its new relation to the shuttle race, giving better control of the shuttles flight through the avoidance of tilting of the box in its guides and consequent misalignment of the working cell with the shuttle race. Also, the scraping and gouging action of the shuttle tips is eliminated or greatly reduced.

In the preferred embodiment, this is accomplished by rolls mounted on horizontal axes and in freely rotating relation on the box-guide immediately above and below the path of the picker, to engage the shuttle tip and adjacent portions of the shuttles shoulders and force the shuttle to move inwardly when the box is moved up or down. Vertical guide-fins above and below the rolls hold the shuttles, thus positioned by the rolls, against vibrating outward from their cells while inactive, as previously.

Other objects of the invention, and the manner of their attainment, are as will be set forth hereinafter.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective rear View of the improved shuttle-guide, in the erect positionwhich it occupies-on the lay. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation, and Fig. 3 a side elevation, of the same. Y

The shifting shuttle-box guide to which the invention features are to be applied may be of any known or*- preferred form, except as tothe shuttle-guiding features thereof. The drawing shows a standard Crompton & Knowles type as used for the four cell shifting shuttlebox (not shown) at one end Yof the lay (not shown) of such loom. The body 1 of the box-guide is formed with a heavy lug 3 whereby the box-guide is mounted on the lay end by bolts put through mounting holes 7 Vand 13.

kThe vertical edge 9 remote from lug 3 forms the guiding surface for the multi-cell shifting shuttle-box, being grooved at 11- to receive the corresponding tongue on the outward side of the shuttle-box, in usual manner. A slot 5 is provided in the body for the picker spindlestand t bolt (not shown) which serves as additional bolting means tegrally with the body. y1 and bosses 17, extending parallel to the box-guiding edge 9 and rearwardly at right angles` to the face` of base 1 far enough to overlap the points of the shuttles occupying the various cells of the changebox. These fins 21 asheretofore form guides which can engage the steel tip 23. of each shuttle 25 which is not inactive position, and keep such shuttle from vibrating outwardly from the position given to it in its cell by the action of rolls 15, so that its shuttle point will not catch on the picker in being moved vertically into picking position or past the picker as the box shifts in accordance vwith the pattern mechanism.

Rolls 15 are so located and of such diameter that their treads protrude an appreciable distance, normally about 1/8 inch, beyond the common verticalr plane of the inward surfaces of fins 21. When the change-box is moved, the point of the shuttle thus being shifted out of working position rises or descends from the hole in the .picker and strikes the tread of the roll 15 lying in its path at'a location inwardly of the vertical plane of the axis of the roll, thus forcing the shuttle inward' in its cell, the resulting rotation ,of the roll causing travel of its surface at the same rate and inthe same direction as the shuttle point. Since there is no relative motion of the surfaces thus in mutual engagement, there is no substantial frictional drag toresist shift of the change-box and the tread of the roll is subjected to no significant gouging or scoring and wear thereofis'very slow. BeingV thus moved inward beyond the faces of the ns 21, the shuttle points clear such faces as the shuttles continue their movement up or down, and do not scrape and cut the tins. In the prior type, the deep gouges cut in the guide-fins sometimes let the shuttle vibrate outward so far as to strike the picker and arrest the boxt shift, with resultant damage. The improved device prevents such occurrence.

The rolls 15 may be made of any suitable material softer than the shuttle tip, such as aluminum, fiber, plastic or the like, so as not to dull the points. Preferably also, the entire box guide will be made of aluminum or other light metal alloy, to lighten the load on the lay end andV reduce the inertia as the lay reverses its direction of travel.

The diameter of the rolls 15 is madeV as greatas possible within the limits imposed by the need to extend the opposing ends of the fins 21 to Where they will be sure to engage the points of shuttles standing idle in the cells immediately above and below that of the working shuttle, to prevent their working outward under vibration.

The only partsof the box-guide subjected to any significant wear are the rolls 15 which force the'shuttle inward, and by the nature of their rolling action this wear is very slow.` Replacement if required by damage or wear is very easily, promptly, and cheaply yeifectedfby.

merely removing the cap screws 19 and installing Vnew rolls at trifling cost, as against removal of the entire boxguide for either replacement'of the wholeunit andscrapping of the old one, or repairs involving lWelding and grinding operations, in either case with material expense and loss of loom time. No wear and dulling of the points of the shuttley tipsA occurs, saving replacement `of these elements. Finally, no signicant wear of the shuttle shoulders occurs Veven when the checkingdevicesyare faulty and lallow too great outward travel `.of the shuttle; there are noV cam surfacesfwhich can dig into the wood back of the shuttle tipto cause a hang-up.v :The ini-n proved shuttle-guide permits of a much greater scope `of the shuttles travel beyond the proper stopping point, because the rolls work to thrust the shuttle inward when they engage the sloping wooden shouldersrback of `the shuttle tip, just as they do when they engage the shuttle tip initially. Y

Thus the novel shuttle-guide throughrits immunity from destructive wear never reaches the state,'familiar in the old form, where it fails to move the shuttle inward far enough for its point to clear the inward faceof'the picker after a faulty picker-check lhas been corrected or a new picker installed, with resulting jamming of the shuttle box in improper position and damage when the picking occurs.V Y

The improved shuttle-guide is adapted to be use/d both at the change-box end of a 4 x l or similar loom having'a single change-box, as well as on the box-guide atY each or breakage ofparts end of the lay in a 4 x 2 automatic or a 4 x 4 changebox loom. t Y

While I have illustrated and described a certain form in which my invention may be embodied, I am aware that many modifications may be made therein by any person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of" the invention as expressed in lthe claim. Therefore,r I

n do not wish to be limited to the rparticular form'shown, I

or to the details of construction thereof, but

WhatIdo claim is: In a change-box loom having a picker and ay plurality of shuttle boxes with shuttles therein, a box-guide'eor'n-v prismg in combination a body portion, a box-guiding Y' surface thereon, shuttle-point guides on the body `portion extending parallel to the` box-guiding surfacey and spaced apart for passage of the picker betweenthe ends of such guides, studs fixed in the body portion adjacent such ends, and rolls Vrotatably mounted on suchl studsand each intervening between the end of a guide and the path of the y picker and extending past the plane of the'guides working surface and adapted to be engaged by .the point of a 1 shuttle being shifted out of working position by the box 

